Like NOVA said, people forget the heavy influence the military and defense industry was in Washington up until fairly recently. It's still there somewhat (Naval base in Bremerton, Joint Base Lewis-McCord, the Yakima training center, Boeing of course) but has shrunk in influence as Microsoft and Amazon have come to define Washington's economy.
Scoop Jackson is probably the gold standard for neocon Democrats, and was massively popular in his time, and I'd have a hard time seeing a politician in his mold having success in modern Washington.
It's funny that you mentioned the naval base in Bremerton because I was stationed on the USS John C. Stennis which is homeported in Bremerton. The area has a Republican feel to it and yet the congressional district votes Democratic and kept reelecting Norm Dicks.
I don't know if anyone can answer this question, but is Mayor Patty Lent supposed to be an Independent? She does attend a lot of Republican events.
